Take Notes for Next Summer

Before the summer schedule completely fades from memory, take a few minutes to think about what worked well and what felt harder than it needed to. Consider camps, childcare, travel, meals, activities, and the overall pace of your days. Write down a few things you want to repeat and a few you would do differently next year. These notes will make planning next summer much easier.

Something to do today:

Choose three outfits for the week and make sure everything is clean and ready. One less decision makes busy mornings easier.

Something to do this week:

Choose one evening to put your phone away and read for thirty minutes. Finish a summer book or begin one you’ve been meaning to start.

Sheet Pan Parmesan Chicken & Broccoli

Page 162 in The Simplified Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 (12oz) bag of frozen broccoli florets

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise

• 1/2 cup bread crumbs, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place broccoli on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound them out until they’re roughly 3/4 inch thick.

4. In a bowl, mix most of the Parmesan cheese and all the mayonnaise, reserving a little cheese for topping.

5. Top each chicken breast with cheese mixture and then with breadcrumbs (save a little of these too).

6. Add chicken to baking sheet next to the broccoli.

7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees.

8. A few minutes before everything is done, sprinkle the rest of the breadcrumbs and cheese on top of everything.

Pro Tip: Throw some quartered petite potatoes in with the broccoli at the beginning. Yum!

Get ahead of your week & make time for the things on your agenda!

1. Send out birthday cards for upcoming August birthdays.

2. Leave cold drinks out for your delivery drivers

3. Create a back-to-school prep list

4. Empty and clean your ice maker

5. Replace air filters (especially if your AC is running hard!)

👇What else are you putting in your planner this week?

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It’s time to get those homework stations in check! Fill this rotating organizer with fresh school supplies to make afternoons a little more productive.

It’s also time to organize your fridge and pantry for lunch-making season! We love these storage bins and baskets for keeping snacks and lunch staples easy to see and grab.

Whitney says this is the world’s most supportive sports bra, and she wouldn’t enjoy running nearly as much without it!

This new Molly Yeh Collection is so adorable! We love the idea of mixing and matching an assortment of the dessert plates.

We’re still talking about this cooling pillow. 10/10 for a good night’s sleep!

Loving the stripe on these bath towels! They’re still classic and simple in white, with just the right touch of color.

Speaking of striped towels, this hand towel is so cute! Add a monogram to make it an extra-special gift.

This sleeveless sweater is exactly what August and September call for! It’s perfectly lightweight while still looking stylish.

Lindsey wanted to join in on all the back-to-school shopping, so she got these for her fall sneakers! We LOVE the ivory!

2026–2027 Planners are now 25% off! It’s the perfect time to grab a Softcover Planner for your kids to stay organized through the entire school year.

Each week, we're answering your real-life questions — about routines, meal ideas, work-life balance, favorite movies, and everything in between. Got a question? Leave it in the comments!

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Q: “How do you keep your Planner helpful instead of overwhelming?”

Emily: Honestly, I use it as a brain dump first and a schedule second — once everything’s out of my head and on paper, I can actually think.

Brittany: I leave the appointments and meetings on my iCal and don’t bother duplicating them on my planner. Using a dual-planning system helps me keep things simplified and streamlined, and my planner is my companion for work tasks, brain dumps, and any personal to-do lists.

Whitney: Mine is just what I need to do or remember for that one day. I don’t pre-plan the week or month in my planner but use it as a tool to stay focused throughout the day so it doesn’t start to feel like a chore.

Dusty: I keep my planner helpful by giving it a clear job instead of expecting it to hold everything. I write down what truly needs to happen and let the rest live in my head or on another list. White space is just as important as what’s written down. When planning feels supportive instead of crowded, I know I’m doing it right.

Laura: Keep it simple. Get everything I need to do out of my head and cross things out one by one. And I don’t worry about making it pretty or perfectly color-coded. It’s gotta be stoopid simple for it to stick.

Carly: I don’t put pressure on myself to keep things consistently pretty or perfectly organized. Some weeks are cute and colorful, some are barely filled in, and some look like a mad woman’s scribbles. And they all work for me, depending on the week I’m having!

Lindsey: I’m with Emily! I use my Planner as a daily and weekly to-do list more than a schedule, and it helps me remember that, right here and right now, this is what I can control. I use our Monthly Acrylic Wall Calendar for my schedule!

Liz: I use my Planner as a guide, not a rule book. I try not to let it stress me out when my day doesn’t go according to plan. If I have to scratch meetings out that get rescheduled, all good. If I didn’t cross off a few things on my to do list, no biggie — I just move them to tomorrow. I try to keep the big priorities at the top of my list and tackle whatever else I can.

🩷 Have a question for our team? Leave it in the comments and your Q might be featured next week!

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2026–2027 Simplified Planners have officially started, and we are so excited! We’ve each set up our Planners to work for our individual planning styles, schedules, and WFH routines, and we’re ready for a great work and school year. Happy August and Happy Planner Start week!

Liz is getting all our marketing ducks in a row for Fall Launch! She’s also gearing up to refresh lots of existing content, including our email and SMS flows, to make everything feel new and fun!

Brittany is processing lots of new wholesale orders this week and reviewing production proofs! Tell us in the comments: Where would you love to see Simplified in stores?

The August Journal Challenge

Take a few minutes each day this month to slow down, check in with yourself, and put your thoughts on paper. There are no right answers and no rules. Write a sentence, fill a page, or simply make a list!

1. What do you want August to feel like?

2. What is one small thing making you so happy right now?

3. Describe your perfect fall day from beginning to end.

4. What has this season of life been teaching you?

5. What is something you loved as a child that you still love today?

6. Where could you use a little more breathing room?

7. Make a list of ten things you’re grateful for today.

8. What is one goal you’d love to make progress on this month?

9. What song always puts you in a good mood, and what memory does it bring back?

10. What is taking up more of your energy than it deserves?

11. What is something you’ve changed your mind about recently?

12. If you could plan a completely free day, how would you spend it?

13. What is something you’re proud of yourself for handling recently?

14. What routines are helping you right now? Which ones are not?

15. What would you put in a time capsule from this summer?

16. What would be included in the starter pack for your current season of life?

17. If you could make one recurring plan with someone you love, who and what would it be?

18. Make a list of your favorite little luxuries that don’t cost much, or anything at all.

19. What do you wish you made more time for?

20. Describe your dream dinner party. Who is there, what are you serving, and what music is playing?

21. What is one expectation you’re ready to let go of?

22. What does feeling organized look like for you right now?

23. Write down five compliments you would give yourself.

24. What is one piece of advice you didn’t understand until you got older?

25. What is the first fall plan you want to put on the calendar?

26. What would your current season of life be called if it were a book chapter?

27. If someone handed you a plane ticket for Labor Day weekend, where would you go?

28. Where have you noticed growth in yourself this year?

29. What do you always say you’ll do when you have more time? Where could it fit into an ordinary week?

30. Write a note of encouragement to the version of you who started this month.

31. What do you want to carry with you from August into the month ahead?

What 2026 summer moment do you want to remember forever? Describe every detail.

Get your journal for the season here.

Thanks for reading this week’s edition of Sunday Prep! We hope you have the best week! Can’t wait to chat Wednesday in our next Post! 💕

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Happy August 1, Happy Planner Start Day, and Happy Simplified New Year!

YAY! You’ve made it to the final day of Planner Bootcamp! By now, your Planner is beautifully set up, your schedule is written down, your goals are in place, and you’re ready to take on the year. But here’s the part where most people get stuck: the follow-through. It’s the part where life gets overwhelming and you forget how helpful your Planner can be. Not this year!

Today we’re talking about how to actually use your Planner all year long, so it becomes a trusted tool — not just pretty (but empty) pages collecting dust on your desk. Trust us, as Planner people, we simply can’t allow that!

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Day four of Planner Bootcamp is here! Today’s setup is a little different and a lot of fun. Liz and Lindsey are going LIVE today at 11am EDT on Substack to answer your planning questions in real time. Whether you’ve been using your Simplified Planner for years or just started this week, we know questions always come up. That’s why this day is all about troubleshooting and customizing your system to work for you.

Here’s a quick guide to some of the questions we’ll be chatting through so you can listen in with your notes ready. Grab your coffee and join us!

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Welcome back to Day 3 of Planner Bootcamp! We’re having so much fun setting everything up together as a community.

Today, we’re opening those fresh pages and filling in all the dates, plans, and little details that will make your Planner truly useful. There is no “right” way to fill in your Planner. It just needs to make sense for your life, your family, and the way your brain works. Let’s get started!

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Welcome back to Day Two of Planner Bootcamp!

Yesterday, we spent time thinking about the year ahead and what we want it to look and feel like. Today, we’re getting practical! We’re taking those bigger goals and thinking about the routines that can help us follow through on an ordinary Wednesday.

Whether you want your days to feel more peaceful, productive, or organized, your routines are a good place to start.

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Welcome to Day 1 of Planner Bootcamp! 🎉 We’re so excited to start setting up our 2026-2027 Simplified Planners together. It’s much more fun pretending we are all in the same room, sharing stickers, and cheers-ing coffee, so for the next few days just know Planner Bootcamp is a positive space to connect with each other while building a foundation for your year. Give us a hi in the comments or in the chat and tell us where you’re setting up your planner! Don’t hesitate to ask questions along the way — you’ve got all of Team Simplified here reading comments and fielding questions.

Today is all about vision — setting the tone for the year ahead with intention and opportunity. A year without a vision is just a year that happens to you.

Before you fill in a single date, to-do, or task, we’re inviting you to pause. Dream a little. Ask yourself: What do I want this next season of life to look and feel like?

The Power of Goal Setting

Setting goals isn’t about hustling harder — it’s about deciding on purpose instead of drifting through your days. It’s the difference between letting the year happen to you and actually shaping it.

Even the small goals matter. Whether you’re saving toward a trip, working toward a promotion, or picking up a hobby just for fun, a goal gives your everyday effort somewhere to go. It’s proof you’re still moving, still growing!

How to Set Great Goals

A goal doesn’t need to be big or trackable to count. The ones worth keeping are the ones that actually sound like you — the person you’re becoming, not the person you think you should be.

Try framing them this way:

• What do I want to accomplish?

• How do I want to feel?

• What am I craving more (or less) of in my life?

If you’re not sure where to start, here are some ideas:

• “I want to read one book a month this year.”

• “I want to build a $3,000 emergency fund.”

• “I want to exercise in a way that I enjoy.”

• “I want to be more patient with my kids in the after-school rush.”

• “I want to try something new just because.”

You Don’t Have to Invent This Alone

Some of the best direction for your next season doesn’t come from inside your own head — it comes from watching someone else live in a way that makes you think, I want that. You can’t be what you can’t see, so go looking for it. Look for the person who changed careers later in life, the friend who took up an instrument as an adult, the stranger on your feed who started a small business from her kitchen table. Let them widen your sense of what’s possible.

Make Room for You

Somewhere between the school calendar, the work deadlines, and everyone else’s needs, it’s easy to forget that you’re allowed to want things too — things that have nothing to do with your job title or your role at home. A goal doesn’t have to serve anyone but you to be worth keeping.

This is your reminder: It’s okay to set a goal just because it sounds fun, or because you’re curious!

Try things like:

• Learn to needlepoint or play Mahjong.

• Write three sentences in a journal before bed.

• Read 10 books before December.

• Add a 2 minute run to your daily walk each week.

• Try a new recipe every Sunday, learn a new language, start a small herb garden — just because!

Success Looks Different In Every Season

There’s no single definition of “on track,” and comparing your season to someone else’s rarely tells you anything useful. A new grad building her first routine, a parent home with a newborn, someone deep in a demanding season at work — all three are moving forward, just toward different things, at different speeds.

Ask yourself:

1. What matters to me right now, in this specific season?

2. What small habits, done consistently, would move me forward?

3. What would it feel like to know I’m succeeding — by my own definition, not anyone else’s?

Emily: My goals this year are close to home. I want to find a new rhythm now that the kids are older — Brady starting to drive, the twins headed into middle school, everything shifting at once under one roof. I want to be the steady thing in the middle of all that change, the constant while everything else is new. And I want to find my joy again; somewhere in the last few years, hobbies became one more thing that got cut when the day ran long, and I miss having something that’s mine just because I like it, not because it produces anything. These matter right now because this is the season, not later, not when things calm down. My kids need to see that steady is possible even when life is loud and fast, and I need to remember I’m a whole person underneath all the mothering. My planner keeps it all visible so I can see the full shape of the season.

Brittany: Personally, I would love to create some down time for reading. I love to read so much, but it’s always the first thing to go in a busy season (looking at you, working mom summer). My brain needs a quiet, happy hobby to reconnect to. Professionally, I’m focused on helping our business grow and staying on track with all of the big projects and launches we have in the works. My planner is my lifeline to structure my days to be productive — and I love having a place to put pen to paper (and then cross items off the to-do list!).

Whitney: Personally, I’ve been on a major health journey since January — discovering gluten and soy allergies, along with hormone imbalances. Changing my diet has completely changed my life, energy, and creativity, so I’m currently training for a 5k and picking back up my creative hobbies. Professionally, I love the second half of the year. We’ll get prototypes and final samples for our 2027 products, make art for our licensing partners, and shoot content for next year’s launches. Sample season can get overwhelming with boxes upon boxes to look through, so I use my planner to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.

Dusty: This year, my goals are pretty personal: I want to spend more time walking and more time working on me. Slowing down, getting outside, and taking care of myself in a way that feels sustainable, not rushed. This season feels like a good time to reset — to focus on my health, my mindset, and creating routines that support how I want to feel each day. I use my planner to keep these goals visible in small, simple ways: I’ll write in walks like I would any other appointment and keep gentle reminders throughout the week.

Laura: I’m really looking forward to getting back into the groove of planning out my workouts once the school year starts up again. August means structure is back for me, and this is the area I want to focus on the most. Each Sunday, my workouts are going into my planner with a timestamp, just like everything else does.

Carly: My personal goals this year include being creative outside of my job. I love how much creative consistency I have here at Simplified, so I’m on a personal mission to explore different ways of being playfully creative that aren’t tied to my professional life. My planner will help me carve out purposeful time in the mornings and evenings for this, and create bucket list items — like “learn to sew” — for me to cross off.

Lindsey: Professionally, I’m working toward creating a better rhythm for all the different hats I wear. I tend to bounce between tasks throughout the day, but I want to give each area of my work real, focused attention. In my planner, I’m color-coding days around specific work themes so I know exactly where to give 100% of my energy. Personally, I’m working on my own Substack — it’s become a creative outlet I work on in the evenings, and it’s accidentally helped me spend a lot less time scrolling. I know my best work happens when I dedicate real time to it, so I’ll use my planner to make that time visible and hold myself accountable.

Liz: Both personally and professionally, I’m working on settling in. We’re finally getting into the swing of things with two kiddos, and I’m figuring out what our new routines look like in this season. I thrive on consistency and a schedule, and newborn life throws that out the window — but figuring out the new rhythm feels really good. Setting routines means I can show up as the best version of myself, for my family, and for my team.

And for our whole team, one goal that never changes: make planning your life easier and more joyful — one page at a time.

Let’s turn your dreams into plans!

Supplies you’ll need:

• Magazines (our faves: Real Simple, Magnolia, Travel + Leisure)

• Polaroids, old tickets, print-outs from your Pinterest boards

• Stickers, washi tape, craft paper, glue

• Or — just your planner and a pen

Start a vision board in the front of your planner, or grab a blank notebook you’ll keep all year. Cut, glue, doodle, or write out what your dream life looks and feels like. It doesn’t need to be neat. It just needs to be true to you!

Prefer something ready-made? Download and print our pre-made vision boards here, styled after this year’s planner patterns:

Berry Stripe

Blush Hydrangea

Carolina Trellis

Pineapple Charm

If crafting isn’t your thing, spend 10–15 minutes writing your goals in the notes section instead. Note where you are right now, and where you’d love to be by next August.

Then ...

Fill out your bucket list.

What do you want to experience this year? It can be as big as “See the Eiffel Tower” or as small as “Try the new taco place down the street.”

Tomorrow, we’re diving into the practical side: setting up your calendar and routines.

But today? Let yourself dream! Have fun with this. Vision shapes action.

Have questions for our team? Bring them to the chat — we’re here to help all week, and always. 💕

Do a Back-to-School Closet Check

Take a quick inventory of everyone’s closets. Have them try on the pieces you aren’t sure about, set aside anything that no longer fits, and make a list of what actually needs to be replaced. You’ll avoid buying duplicates, know exactly what to shop for, and make those first busy school mornings much easier.

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You’ve probably seen the worth-it list trend taking over the internet lately — and honestly, we’re here for it. There’s something about watching women name what actually matters to them, out loud and without apology, that feels like a collective exhale.

Emily wrote her own this week — her Worth It List, Time Edition — and if you haven’t read it yet, start there. She took the trend somewhere more interesting than most: not just what’s worth the money, but what’s worth the time. What’s worth pausing for. What’s worth carving out precious minutes for.

Because if you never stop to name what’s actually worth your time, everything will compete for it equally. And that’s how you end up giving your best hours to the wrong things.

So that’s what we want to help you do. Not a productivity exercise. Not a values worksheet. Just a few honest questions to help you figure out what actually belongs on your worth-it list — and then the harder, more important thing: making room for it. Here are the questions worth sitting with.

7 Questions to Build Your Worth-It List

1. What did you half-show up for last week because everything else felt more urgent?

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Plan One Zero-Cooking Dinner

Choose one busy night a week when dinner requires absolutely no cooking. Make sandwiches, put together a snack board, serve leftovers, or order takeout — and add it to your planner intentionally. Knowing there’s one evening when you don’t have to prep, cook, or clean a pile of dishes gives you a built-in break before the week even begins.

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Hi, friends!

We thought today needed a little note for everyone to take the pressure off. A quick pep talk!

We’re in the thick of it — the part of summer where the newness has worn off and the routine hasn’t come back yet. The to-do list is long. The energy is shorter. Everyone is hot the minute you step outside. And somehow the days feel both endless and like they’re slipping through your fingers at the same time.

If you’ve been feeling behind, uninspired, or just a little worn down lately — that’s not a personal failing. That’s just where we are. Mid-July is always like this. We should expect it, but instead it catches us by surprise every year.

So consider this your reminder to put the list down for a second. Not forever. Just long enough to take a breath and notice that you are actually doing a lot of things really well.

And just so we’re clear — here are 10 things you’re doing right:

1. Not saying out loud the thing you were absolutely thinking.

2. Answering the email asking a question you’ve already answered.

3. Drinking one sip of water in between coffees.

4. Making it to camp drop-off with the correct child and most of their belongings.

5. Moving the laundry to the dryer before it needed to be washed again.

6. Remembering the password without having to reset it.

7. Getting out of the house when you needed a change of scenery — or just better air-conditioning.

8. Texting back while the conversation was still somewhat relevant.

9. Feeding yourself actual meals, mostly.

10. Waking up and starting again, even when yesterday was a lot.

That’s real. That counts. All of it!

The second half of summer doesn’t have to be better or more productive or more anything. You’re allowed to enjoy it exactly as it is — a little messy, a little beautiful, and entirely enough.

We’re right here with you!

— Team Simplified

Clean out your bathroom drawers.

Your bathroom drawers shouldn’t be a mess of half-used products and tangled hair ties. A tidy routine starts with a tidy space!

Take 15 minutes to:

1. Empty out your bathroom drawers or cabinet

2. Toss expired products, old makeup, and anything you haven’t used in months

3. Give drawers and containers a quick wipe-down

4. Group like items: skincare, hair care, makeup, dental

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We spend so much time talking about the Sunday evening planning session — brain dumping, mapping the week, getting your head right before Monday. And that ritual is worth every minute.

But here’s what we don’t talk about enough: Your weekend deserves the same attention. Maybe more!

Saturday and Sunday are packed. Kids’ activities, family time, errands, the fun stuff you’ve been looking forward to all week. And yet most of us walk into the weekend the same way we’d walk into a meeting we forgot to prep for — a little frantic, a little behind, hoping it works itself out.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Thursday night is your answer.

The Thursday Night Brain Dump

Ten things, one night, a whole weekend that actually feels like yours!

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Organize your camera roll.

A cluttered camera roll can make it hard to find what you need, and it adds to mental clutter too.

This week, take 30 minutes to tidy up your photos:

• Delete duplicates, screenshots, or random photos you don’t need

• Create albums for big events, favorite memories, or reference pics

• Pick a few recent favorites to print or add to a digital frame

• Backup your photos to the cloud or an external drive

Something to do today:

Set a simple intention for how you want to feel at the end of this week — rested, caught up, present, whatever it is — and let that guide your decisions when things come up.

Something to do this week:

Text a friend and make a plan. Invite them to go on a walk this week. Do you find yourself telling people you need to get together and never do?! Not this week!

Chicken Salad

Page 77 in The Simplified Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mayonnaise

• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

• 2 Tbsp chicken base

• 4 cups shredded (or chopped) chicken

• 1/2 cup diced celery

• Croissants & lettuce, for serving

Directions:

1. Whisk mayonnaise, lemon juice, and chicken base together in a bowl.

2. Add chicken and celery and mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. You can also refrigerate overnight and serve the next day.

Light, simple, and exactly the kind of thing that hits the spot on hot summer days!

Get ahead of your week & make time for the things on your agenda!

1. Send out birthday cards for upcoming July birthdays.

2. Clean your keyboard and phone screen.

3. Block off one weekend this month with nothing planned and protect it.

4. Organize your digital photos from the first half of the year before they pile up further.

5. Book any back-to-school appointments — physicals, dentist, eye exams.

👇What else are you putting in your planner this week?

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There are so many fun finds here, but this custom bag is definitely stealing the show. It would make such a thoughtful gift — and it’s on sale right now!

Laura has been buying perfectly portioned Drizzilicious bites for a little afternoon treat. The Birthday Cake flavor is a team favorite!

Whitney’s adorable scalloped cart is currently on sale! She uses it to organize all of her art supplies — a very fitting setup for our Creative Director!

Need a new book recommendation? Emily shared every book she’s read so far this year, and there are plenty of titles worth adding to your TBR.

Lindsey just ordered this high-waisted swimsuit, and she’s already obsessed. Between the flattering fit and the fun print, it’s an easy summer favorite.

The kind of dress you’ll want to wear on repeat all summer long. It’s 100% cotton, incredibly comfortable, and easy to dress up or down.

Brittany has been consistent with these protein and sleep supplements as part of her daily routine. If you’ve been curious about trying them, the Starter Stack is a great place to begin. We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: In Dr. Mary Claire we trust!

A team favorite alert! Whitney stocked up on the best pajamas for her kids to take to the beach, and they’re on sale for an amazing price right now.

Emily’s solitaire necklace is one of the most asked-about pieces she wears. We finally found the best lookalike — and it’s such a great price!

A swimsuit that checks all the boxes: ✔️ Strapless

Each week, we're answering your real-life questions — about routines, meal ideas, work-life balance, favorite movies, and everything in between. Got a question? Leave it in the comments!

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Q: “What’s your comfort movie?”

Emily: Lately it’s The Parent Trap.

Brittany: It’s Complicated! Meryl is QUEEN always.

Whitney: Harry Potter, any of them!

Dusty: Twister!

Laura: Sound of Music, Now & Then, and Pretty Woman.

Carly: Princess Diaries!

Lindsey: Cheaper By The Dozen, The Proposal, and Secretariat!

Liz: Breakfast at Tiffany’s

What a great list! Save it for a rainy day or when you can’t think of anything to watch.

🩷 Have a question for our team? Leave it in the comments and your Q might be featured next week!

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We celebrated 18 years as a small business! We’re so proud of how far we’ve come and so grateful for this incredible community that’s been with us every step of the way. Thank you, Emily, for believing so many years ago that women deserved a planner that could truly simplify their lives.

And speaking of celebrating, we got to virtually cheers Laura, our Director of Design and Experience, for her 6 year work anniversary. Congrats, team-friend!

The bestseller of our Birthday Sale so far is Carolina Trellis Notebook!

Planner Bootcamp is coming up. Join us here on Substack to prep your Planner for the best year yet! And if you don’t have your Planner yet, well ... you know the drill! And they’re still on sale for one more day!

A fun trip down memory lane to celebrate 18 years! We brought back this retired design from 2020 for everyone’s brain dump this week. Print it out to feel nostalgic with us. Thank you for supporting our small business over the years. We couldn’t do it without YOU!

If this month had a color, smell, or sound, what would it be?

Get your journal for the season here.

Thanks for reading this week’s edition of Sunday Prep! We hope you have the best week! Can’t wait to chat Wednesday in our next Post! 💕

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Hi, friends! Emily here.

I wanted to pop over to celebrate Simplified’s birthday with y’all — and honestly, there’s no community I’d rather throw a planner party with than you.

So pull up a chair, because every good birthday comes with a little reminiscing, and this one starts back where it all began.

Back in 2012, I was loving my life and drowning in it at the exact same time. I had a baby on my hip, a business I was building in my guest room late at night, and a brain that felt like it was running fifteen tabs at once — deadlines, diapers, dinner, doctor’s appointments, all of it, all the time. I’d lie awake some nights running through everything I might be forgetting, certain I was one missed thing away from the whole day falling apart. (This makes me need a deep breath just writing it out again!)

I tried the apps. I tried the binders. I tried every color-coded system anyone swore by. None of it held the way I needed it held — none of it made me feel like I could actually breathe.

So I built the system I couldn’t find anywhere else. The first Simplified Planner.

I didn’t build it for a market. I built it for myself — and then realized I wasn’t alone. Hundreds of thousands of women were carrying the same invisible load. Loving their lives. Overwhelmed by everything those lives held. Looking for something that would actually work.

Some of my favorite moments since have come from hearing that something finally worked for someone else too — a customer telling me a planner page walked her through a hard season, a mom in line at Target stopping me because she recognized the beautiful cover. Watching a sharpie-and-binder idea end up on shelves at Target, Walmart, Anthropologie. None of that was the plan, and it still doesn’t feel real some days!

I won’t pretend every year of this was easy. There were seasons I showed up exhausted, parenting through planner files and book deadlines, wondering if I was doing either job well. Growing a business while growing a family will humble you fast — there’s no planner page for that, though I’ve tried.

One of the things I’m proudest of, looking back: the team of women we built along the way. Many of us moms, building creative careers that flex around our families instead of demanding the reverse. We built the kind of company we needed back when we were the overwhelmed ones at the kitchen table — work that bends to fit a real life, not the other way around.

Simplified has been that solution for nearly 20 years now. Today, you’ll find us online, in major retail stores, and in small local businesses, and the community keeps growing in ways I’m endlessly grateful for. If you want to see how far we’ve come — every cover, every year, every season — the Planner Archive is waiting for you!

So today is about us turning eighteen — and it’s about every single one of you who’s spent a piece of those eighteen years with us. To celebrate, the Birthday Sale starts today through Monday — up to 60% off, no code needed. Make sure to grab your new planner on sale so you’re ready for August. I’m in the thick of it too, getting my own ready, and cheering you on all year long!

Thank you for eighteen years of choosing to simplify your life. We’re proud to help and proud of you!

xo, Emily

Before the planners get opened and the pages get filled, it’s time for something we look forward to all summer long.

Planner Bootcamp is back! Five days of focused, practical planning — the kind that takes you from blank pages to YOUR system that actually holds. Our team has spent eighteen years figuring out what works, and this week is where we hand all of it to you.

It starts July 28, right here on Substack. We can’t wait.

Here's our schedule:

Tuesday, July 28: Envision Your Year

• The power of goals and how to set ones you’ll actually keep

• Team Simplified’s goals for the year

• You’ll get: Pre-made vision board materials

• Together we’ll: Make a vision board inside your planner

Wednesday, July 29: Prepare for New Routines

• Why routines work and what they actually look like in real life

• How to build rhythms that fit yours

• You’ll get: Cleaning routine and home maintenance checklist

• Together we’ll: Build better rhythms for the year

Thursday, July 30: Fill In Dates

• Color-coding 101 and 10 ways to use your notes section + monthly spreads

• Inside Team Simplified’s Planners this year

• You’ll get: Perpetual calendar template and community inspo for your planner pages

• Together we’ll: Fill out important dates and set up a new system for your year

Friday, July 31: Solve Pain Points

• Liz and Lindsey from Team Simplified go LIVE to answer your planning questions!

• They’ll tackle FAQs like planning digitally and on paper, tracking long-term to-dos, and actually sticking with it

• You’ll get: Collective answers from our Team and our community

• Together we’ll: Chat through your biggest planning hurdles

Saturday, August 1: Start a Great Year

• How to actually use your Planner

• Other systems to help you throughout the year

• You’ll get: 10 things to make planning easier and a celebration for completing your week at bootcamp!

• Together we’ll: Find confidence to continue planning with intention

In the meantime, we’ve got your packing list! Here are the supplies you’ll need:

1. Your Simplified Planner

2. A fresh set of your favorite pens

3. Highlighters

4. Color-Coding Stickers

You’ll also want to start cutting out inspirational words and images from your favorite magazines or newspapers, even your Pinterest board. Think vision board ... 👀

Before we kick off, we want to hear from you. Where do you usually get stuck?

Is it setting goals that feel realistic? Creating routines that don’t fall apart by week two? Figuring out how to schedule a full, unpredictable life with some sense of order? Or is it the follow-through — keeping your planner open and useful past the first few weeks?

Drop your questions, struggles, or best planning practices in the comments. We’re reading every single one.

We can’t wait to kick things off with you. So pack your pouches, and meet us back here July 28. It’s going to be good!

xo, Team Simplified

P.S. If you’re not already a paid subscriber, now is the time.

Subscribe now

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Leave Empty Space

When organizing a shelf, drawer, or closet, resist the urge to fill every inch. Leave a little room!

Empty space gives things room to breathe and makes future tidying easier.

Something to do today:

Go outside for at least ten minutes with no phone. Just fresh air and whatever is actually happening around you.

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If you’ve spent any time with Simplified, you’ve seen our pineapple. It’s on our planners, our accessories, woven into the details of nearly everything we make. People ask about it all the time — and we love that they do, because the answer matters to us.

The pineapple has been a symbol of Southern hospitality for centuries. Long before it showed up on dishes and wallpaper, it was placed at the entrance of a home to signal something simple and powerful: You are welcome here. Come in. There’s a place for you at this table!

That’s exactly what Emily wanted Simplified to feel like from the very beginning.

Emily didn’t start this brand to sell planners. She started it because she was a woman drowning in the details of a life she loved — and she figured out a system that helped her come up for air. Then she wanted every woman who felt the same way to have access to that same tool.

That feeling — I found something that helped me and I want it to help you too — is hospitality in its truest form. It’s not about having a perfect home or a perfect life. It’s about seeing someone, pulling up a chair, and saying, “Sit down, you’re not alone in this.”

The pineapple is our way of saying that every single time.

We think about hospitality a lot around here. The kind that makes people feel like they exhaled the moment they walked in. The kind where nobody’s performing and everybody belongs.

That’s what we try to build into everything we make. A planner that doesn’t make you feel behind. A product that feels like it was made for your real life — because as a team of women, we already know what you need. A community where the woman next to you is carrying the same things you are, and you both know it.

We want you to feel that every time you open your planner, reach for your notepad, or pull out your pen. You are welcome here. This was made for you.

Today is National Pineapple Day, and we know just how to celebrate! A brand new, first-ever Embroidered Journal — and our Pineapple Collection is 20% off today. The pieces that wear the symbol most proudly and carry the meaning behind it.

But more than the sale, we just wanted to take a moment to say thank you. Eighteen years in and we still pinch ourselves. Truly — this community, this work, the trust you place in us. We don’t take a single bit of it for granted.

You’re why the pineapple means what it means to us!

Here’s to the women who show up, who welcome others in, and who refuse to let the hard seasons win. You belong here.

Happy National Pineapple Day! 🍍

xo, Team Simplified

Get your new journal and save on the Pineapple Collection — 20% off today.

Make Waiting Time Useful

Keep a small list of five-minute tasks on your phone.

1. Respond to one email.

2. Order a birthday gift.

3. Delete old screenshots.

Those little pockets of waiting time can quietly keep life moving.

Something to do today:

Clear your kitchen counters completely and wipe them down. It’s a small reset that makes the whole house feel more manageable going into the week.

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Somehow it’s already almost the second half of the year. If you’re sitting there wondering where the first half went — and whether you’re still on track — you’re not alone. The women who finish the year feeling good aren’t the ones who had it all figured out in January. They’re the ones who paused somewhere in the middle, asked themselves a few honest questions, and kept going with a little more clarity than before.

July starts in two weeks. This is that pause!

Grab your planner, something delightful to drink, and about thirty minutes you won’t regret giving yourself.

Your Mid-Year Check-In:

1. What actually got done?

Before you look at what didn’t happen — and we know that’s where your brain wants to go first — start here. Write down everything you’ve finished, shown up for, figured out, or followed through on since January. Big things and small ones. The work win and the dentist appointment you finally scheduled and the hard conversation you had that needed to happen.

All of it counts! Give yourself the full picture before you start editing it.

2. What didn’t happen — and do you still want it to?

This is the one that requires the most honesty. Some things fell off because life genuinely got in the way — a busy season, a hard month, something that needed your attention more. Those deserve a second chance in the second half.

But some things didn’t happen because, quietly, you’ve moved on from them. And that’s okay too!

The goal isn’t to resurrect every January intention. It’s to figure out which ones still belong to you.

3. When did you feel most like yourself?

Not most productive. Not most on top of it. Most like yourself — clear, grounded, present, happy. Think back over the last six months and find those moments. Maybe it was a morning that started slow enough to feel human. A weekend that actually felt like a weekend. A project that reminded you why you do what you do.

Write them down. Then ask yourself how to build more of those moments into the next six months.

4. If you had to pick one thing — what would make this year feel like a success?

Just one thing. If you made real progress on it by December 31st — not perfection, just honest progress — you’d close the year feeling like it counted.

Maybe it’s finally getting your finances in order. Maybe it’s showing up more consistently for your health. Maybe it’s finishing something you’ve been putting off for two years, or being more present with your kids, or building something you’ve been quietly dreaming about.

It doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours. Write it down when it surfaces. That’s your second half.

5. What do you need to let go of to make room for it?

This is where the reset actually happens — not in adding more, but in clearing space. One commitment that’s draining more than it’s giving. One obligation you said yes to when you should have said not right now. One standard you’re holding yourself to that stopped making sense a while ago.

You don’t have to resolve it today. You just have to name it. That’s enough to start.

Five questions. Thirty minutes. A blank page and enough honesty to use it.

The second half of the year is still wide open. We’re rooting for yours!

P.S. If this post helped you, forward it to a friend. We’d love to have her here too!